Saturday, July 18, 2015

Evolving Name


Many years ago when I first started making jewelry, I coined my business as "Star's Jewelry Creations". 



Why Star's? Why not Beth's? Beth is my birth name, carefully chosen by my parents. (I was named after the character in Little Women, but I'm more like Jo than Beth.) My name sounds so plain, whereas Star sounds exotic. I chose the name Star from the movie, The Lost Boys. Star became my nickname... and at one time in my life - I was considering on permanently changing my name to this. I cannot count how many times I've introduced myself to people and had to correct them saying, "No, I'm just Beth." 

Which brings me to the next name: Jewelry Creations from the Heart. As my name (just) Beth is unique, I didn't need Star any more. I added "from the heart" because I wanted another symbol I could add to the JC for my hand drawn logo. 



In 2011 when I went to sell my jewelry on Etsy, someone was using "Jewelry creations from the heart " as their slogan. (Their slogan, mind you, not their business name!)  And because of this, I wasn't able to use this as my store name. Argh! doesn't even come close to the feeling I felt. What am I going to use now as my business's name?! 

After much brainstorming, I chose my logo: JC Heart and then added the Designs to this. I didn't want to use jewelry because at that time I was making rosaries too. 

Fast forward to 2015 - I have been wondering if I should change my business name. To what? No clue. Why would I even consider changing the name? Because JC Heart Designs doesn't specify my type of business. For all people know, I could be selling candles! 

I could change my name back to Jewelry Creations from the Heart (Etsy allows one name change), but then I run into the same problem as before - I don't just make jewelry. Then I thought, huh, I could change it to Jeweled Creations from the heart. But I run into another problem as ❤️ could mean heart or love. *sigh* 

Many people associate the JC for Jesus Christ which never even occurred to me although I'm Catholic. (Go figure!) 

So for 1 week, i wrote down lots and lots of words that are associated with what type of jewelry and other designs that I make. I also looked up adjectives and synonyms. Swapping words around, adding or subtracting adjectives... Back and forth, searching domain names and looking at the USPTO website (for trademarks, patents, and copyrights.) I came up with a lot of names; such as: 

• Encompassed Jewel 
• Hammered Ore Wired
• Riveting Wire Designs 
• Strung and Wired

But I wasn't sure... I started questioning if I really wanted to do this? Do I want to throw away four years of work by trying to get JC Heart out there? I'd have to change EVERYTHING! I'd have to get a new email address, new business cards, new slogan, new logo, and update all of my accounts- Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest, Blogger, Google, etc. 

The Epiphany 
And then in the middle of the night, 'it' occurred to me that Jesus Christ is the sole reason I make the type of jewelry I create now! Oh my gosh!!! I was overwhelmed with joy when this thought was placed in my head. I immediately thanked God and prayed. 🙏



Everything clicked into place! 

Next up: "Full Circle"


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